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war hero's name will not be on new naval vessel

USS Stethem is an Arleigh Burke-class Aegis guided missile destroyer in the United States Navy. The ship was built in Pascagoula, Mississippi, starting on 11 May 1993. She was commissioned on 21 October 1995. She is part of the Pacific Fleet, assigned to Destroyer Squadron 9. The Stethem was named for Steelworker 2nd Class Robert Stethem. He was a Seabee diver killed by Shiite hijackers onboard TWA 847 at Beirut International Airport in 1985. He was from my hometown of Waldorf, MD. He was murdered when I was in High School there, he went to my rival High School.
 
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Talyn said:
Well two more Ford Calss CVNs are scheduled to be named after Clintion & Bush #2, two run-of-the-mill POTUS's, so that needs to be changed.

IMO, the only two POTUS's that should have capital ships named after them are G. Washington & A. Lincoln. The naming copnvention should go back to naming after the various refernences to the country (e.g United States & America) famous former ships (Yorktown, Saratoga, Constellation, etc.) and naval battles (Midway, etc.).

My .02
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Id add both the Roosevelts. Franklin because WW2, depression, ccc, lend lease, etc and teddy because hes the most straight up and manly president we ever had (boxing, wrestling, and judo in the oval office? He'd slap djt around like a little punk around if he was here), trust busting, anti corruption, environmental work, Spanish American war, and because of the r8ver of doubt because I love for the adventure of it.
 
Stethem was born in Waterbury, Connecticut but grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Waldorf, Maryland. He was one of four children. His father, Richard Stethem, retired from the Navy as a Senior Chief after 20 years, continuing to work for it as a civilian afterwards. His mother Patricia served with the Navy before raising her family, continuing to serve in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces afterwards. His brother, Chief Boatswain's Mate Kenneth Stethem, was a Navy SEAL and brother Diver First Class Patrick Stethem served in Underwater Construction Team One for 10 years – the same unit in which Robert served. Stethem had one sister, Sheryl Sierralta.


He graduated from Thomas Stone High School in 1980, where he played defensive back on the varsity and junior varsity football teams. He also played Little League baseball.


Stethem joined the Navy soon after graduating, reporting for duty on May 4, 1981.
 
On June 14, 1985, Stethem was returning from an assignment in Nea Makri, Greece, aboard TWA Flight 847 when it was hijacked by members of the Lebanese organization Hezbollah. The hijackers kept 39 people hostage for 17 days, demanding the release of 766 Lebanese and Palestinians held by Israel. When their demands were not met, Stethem, as a member of the U.S. military, was beaten and tortured. Finally, the terrorists shot him in the temple and dumped his body onto the tarmac at the Beirut airport.


One of the hijackers, Mohammed Ali Hammadi, was arrested two years later in Frankfurt, Germany. He was tried and convicted of Stethem's murder and sentenced to life in prison but was released in 2005 after serving 19 years. Three others, Imad Mugniyah, Hassan Izz-Al-Din, and Ali Atwa, were eventually indicted for their involvement in the incident. In 2002, they were added to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. On February 13, 2008, Mugniyah was killed in an explosion in Damascus, Syria.In 2019, Greek police arrested a 65-year-old Lebanese man who was accused of involvement in the hijacking,
 
Stethem was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. His body was collected from the airport tarmac and repatriated to the US; he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 59, Grave 430 near other American victims of international terrorism.


On August 24, 2010, in Yokosuka, Japan, aboard the ship named after him – the USS Stethem (DDG-63) – Stethem was made an honorary Master Chief Constructionman (CUCM) by order of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy. His brother, Kenneth, accepted the certificate and decorations on behalf of the Stethem family.


On April 24, 2015, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus presented the Prisoner of War medal to Stethem's parents.
 
Onewolf426 said:
On June 14, 1985, Stethem was returning from an assignment in Nea Makri, Greece, aboard TWA Flight 847 when it was hijacked by members of the Lebanese organization Hezbollah. The hijackers kept 39 people hostage for 17 days, demanding the release of 766 Lebanese and Palestinians held by Israel. When their demands were not met, Stethem, as a member of the U.S. military, was beaten and tortured. Finally, the terrorists shot him in the temple and dumped his body onto the tarmac at the Beirut airport.


One of the hijackers, Mohammed Ali Hammadi, was arrested two years later in Frankfurt, Germany. He was tried and convicted of Stethem's murder and sentenced to life in prison but was released in 2005 after serving 19 years. Three others, Imad Mugniyah, Hassan Izz-Al-Din, and Ali Atwa, were eventually indicted for their involvement in the incident. In 2002, they were added to the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. On February 13, 2008, Mugniyah was killed in an explosion in Damascus, Syria.In 2019, Greek police arrested a 65-year-old Lebanese man who was accused of involvement in the hijacking,
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Sounds Iike a hero and a first rate sailor and american
 
MN300PRC said:
He doesn't deserve it. Good economics but missed bin laden and didged the draft. Also all the sex stuff. Integrity means something
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fair point, yet, president Kennedy (who had his share of sex stuff too) had one ship named after him and is due for another - "There have been two notable ships named after President John F. Kennedy: the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), an aircraft carrier commissioned in 1968 and decommissioned in 2007, and the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), a Ford-class aircraft carrier currently under construction"
 
trader said:
fair point, yet, president Kennedy (who had his share of sex stuff too) had one ship named after him and is due for another - "There have been two notable ships named after President John F. Kennedy: the USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), an aircraft carrier commissioned in 1968 and decommissioned in 2007, and the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), a Ford-class aircraft carrier currently under construction"
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Im open minded but bill doesn't deserve a aircraft carrier. Jfk did some real stuff so maybe. Washington, Lincoln, both Roosevelts deserve it. Maybe reagan for the staring contest with the kremlin. Ike for what he did in europe? Djt deserves a po box in rural iowa at best. Any military honor or naming for him is stolen valor to me
 
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